If I Fell
by comedychik84
Summary: Jareth and Sarah meet unexpectedly at a Louisiana wedding. Random wedding guests, wardrobe malfunctions, and an awful DJ add up to a memorable wedding.
1. One

You could say that weddings are one of the last bastions of courtly romance; often blown out of proportion by caterers, decorators, dressmakers and the ilk. Little girls, as grossly stereotyped by popular culture, dream of their perfect white wedding, the perfect groom, the perfect princess wedding dress, the perfect cake, etc etc etc. So it's quite understandable that Sarah Williams, the 'little girl in a grown-up's body' was standing at the altar of the perfect wedding, the groom smiling and happy, and the four-tier wedding cake not far in the distance.

Sarah's dress, of course, was not the snowy white of her dreams, it was a deep ruby red (Grandma Josephine would call it a 'hussy red', but Grandma Josephine wasn't there, she'd passed away quite suddenly weeks before), which set off her still-girlish burnished brown locks and innocent green eyes. The groom, upon closer inspection was quite a bit older than young Sarah Williams; one could almost say, old enough to be her father.

Oh, wait. That's because he was.

Sarah shifted imperceptibly as she stood to the side of the altar, her reluctantly-worn dress shoes pinching her poor toes, which were, almost audibly, screaming at her to take the horrible shoes off. She had voted for a renewal ceremony to be at the beach, where they could all be barefoot and casual, but, as this wasn't her wedding and her stepmother rarely, if ever, took her opinion into account, she was overruled and the showy church wedding was planned for late August.

Karen always did have a flair for the dramatic. Because of this, three quarters of the wedding party had been waiting for her arrival for quite a few minutes; the organist was starting to improvise strains of "O When the Saints" into the Wedding March and Cousin Jimmy had gone to the "bathroom" four times already (everyone knew what he was doing, he wasn't fooling anyone). The audience, er, the wedding guests, were assembled in the massive church hall, every pew filled to bursting with people known (and not know, as it were) to the Williams family and yet they were waiting patiently. Sarah's guess was that they were waiting for the reception, as it had a free open bar and a huge wedding cake, or at the very least they were waiting to see what the commotion was all about with the 'society wedding of the season'. Whatever a season was.

As Sarah started to pluck at the white rose petals of her bouquet again, telling herself that this was for a good cause (family ties?), the soft background music sudden burst into full "pay attention to me!" volume, causing quite a start with the audience, er guests. Lucy Kimball had the grace to fall out of a pew where she had been nodding off. Thankfully they were sitting in the back, off of the left aisle, not the main aisle. Rather awkward family, those Kimballs. The ostentatious doors did not just gracefully glide open, but were flung open and behold! a vision in white stood demurely in the opening, her head tilted just so, her graceful white dress flowing to floor, her bouquet of baby's breath and red roses clutched firmly in front of her.

Sarah rolled her eyes and covertly checked her watch.

Ten minutes later, Karen arrived in front of the preacher, her long train just now clearing the entrance, finally allowing the ushers to slam the doors (they really must look at those hinges). She handed her bouquet into Sarah's waiting hands and she and Robert faced the priest. Robert still held the same look of adoration on his face, making it clear that he would have waited another century for his new wife to come down the aisle. To Robert's left stood Charlie, Karen's nephew from New Hampshire. He and Robert were just barely acquaintances, but Toby had, quite inconveniently, come down with the chicken pox and had to stay home, so Charlie had stepped in. He wasn't such a bad fellow, average height, average build, average looks…in fact, he was a very average sort of guy. Next to Robert's internal glow of happiness, though, he looked sallow and disheartened. Sarah decided to grill him for information after the reception. It was either focus on other things going on or pay attention to the ceremony.

It was fortunate (unfortunate?) that Karen and Robert were able to get a priest very much like the abbot from the movie "The Princess Bride". He really did have a similar speech impediment, and talked at a rather slow pace. If he was the same guy, he could make a fortune as an impersonator!

"Dear-we bewoved, we are gav-werd here to-day…"

By the end of the ceremony, Sarah's feet had stopped talking to her altogether and she began to worry that they would refuse to help her out by guiding her down the aisle. She began to eye Charlie's back, thinking that perhaps he could give her a piggy-back ride and save her feet from humiliation. She was distracted by her thoughts by the abbot, er priest, presenting the couple to the masses. Robert and Karen turned to face everyone, their happiness and (gag) love for each other evident. Sarah pasted on a smile and started to count the minutes until she could run for her plane back to Philadelphia. Not that there was anything more interesting that a dead-end job and a goldfish waiting for her, but it was better than being lonely in a crowd.

Lost in her own thoughts, Sarah almost missed the cue to grab Charlie's arm and start down the aisle. She was saved only by an untuned key in the organ which made her start forward, conveniently grasping for purchase on Charlie's arm.

"Are you going to make it, Sarah?" Charlie inquired in a hushed, almost reverent tone, somewhat formally. Of course, having just met his cousin-by-marriage hours before, the situation called for formality. At least, until the wine was broken out.

"My feet hate me right now." Sarah whispered back, trying not to tumble down the mile-long aisle, the doors far in the distance and getting farther away by the moment. If she had stopped to consider things, she would have made the comparison of unreality with her adventure in the Labyrinth…how nothing was what it seemed.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps they will like you better after several hours of drinking and dancing." Charlie said with a wide grin, his pretense of formality slipping, as he started to see his cousin for more than just a hussy in a red dress (Grandma Josephine liked to share her opinion with anyone who had ears...and some who didn't).

"Oh God, are we there yet?" Sarah paused, squinting at the door. They must have been going a mile an hour. Of course, they had to wait for the train to be let out of the building before they could proceed.

As Sarah contemplated the poor decision making skills of her Payless personal shoe-shopper, she was completely oblivious to the eyes following her every move as she tottered down the aisle, leaning heavily on her cousin. Of course, now that the bride had exited the church, well, all except her train, every one of the guests were bursting with impatience to get to the booze, cake, and bathrooms. So, of course, if Sarah were a voodoo pin cushion, she'd be dead now. Or, perhaps there already was a fan in the audience and they were focusing on her feet. It could happen, it was, after all, Louisiana.

One pair of eyes in particular watched her contemplatively. Not, as some would think, haughtily or with malice, but…thoughtfully. Jareth (yes, that Jareth) sat towards the back, his arms crossed, his pants not as tight as some might like, his hair more sedate, not so…glam rock. Because of a rather unfortunate promise made while inebriated he had chanced to be in this small church outside of Alexandria, Louisiana, observing a wedding of people he didn't know, nor care to know. But, as fate would have it, he found one thing to hold his interest – and she was tottering down the aisle, like a drunken sailor, on the arm of his date.


	2. Two

AN: Sorry, forgot the 'standard disclaimer'...I'm so used to reading them that I forgot they have to be _explained_. I don't own anything.

AN2: Thanks to all my reviewers so far! As well as grazie to my ever eternal beta, sassquatch (whatever, you owe me from all of your college papers. this is _cake_ compared to what I read for you!)

The reception line was not as long as it should have been; a large number of guests slipped by on the pretense of using the restroom or getting some 'fresh air'. Sarah still thought it was unnecessarily long and if anyone cared to listen she would have done more whining that a twenty-four year old in pain merited in a public setting. She knew very few of the people in the line, but decided that she had to put on a good face for the Williams side of the family. Or, at least, a passably interested face.

Charlie was proving to be a welcome distraction from the increasing boredom, whispering bits of gossip and giving his 'expert' opinion on some of the clothing choices of the guests. When Karen's parents puttered up to the front of the reception line, Sarah knew she'd be standing for quite a while longer. Even though Karen's mother (Grandma Josephine's sister, coincidentally) lived twenty minutes away in Alexandria and the two women talked for numerous hours a week, whenever they saw each other they had to repeat every conversation they've had for the past six months. It's tedious to listen to.

"So, Charlie, where's your date? Or did you come stag, as I did, hoping to find someone to take up to your room after the reception?" Sarah decided to plunge in the waters, responding to his earlier sad demeanor.

"Well, Bobby had to stay at home this weekend because of some work project or another, so I brought one of his business colleagues, Jareth Kavanagh. He's been a good sport, though he probably doesn't want to see or talk to me for the next decade – I tend to get chatty when I'm nervous, and his intensity makes me nervous. He's actually a good listener, too! Well, at least when you get some alcohol into him, I've found, then he doesn't care who's talking, as long as they're buying. It's almost a shame, too, that he's straight. Whoever heard of a straight man dressing with such style? And, oo, his manners! He could teach Emily Post a thing or two." And, Charlie kept going as he warmed up to his topic, extolling the virtues of his unattainable date to the point where Sarah was sure that this Jareth was some sort of king or member of royalty who had something like a fireplace poker shoved up his…well, perhaps that'd be an inappropriate analogy.

Charlie's soliloquy was, mercifully, broken off as Karen's parents said their cursory greetings and, now at a much faster pace, ran for the bathrooms (they're old, what can you say?). After several more guests went through the line up, Charlie's demeanor changed abruptly. His back stiffened, he seemed to pull himself in, as if he was meeting an important person. All Sarah saw was an attractive platinum blond man, with sharp eyes and a smart navy suit and power red tie.

"Hello, Jareth, I trust you're not too bored? There will be beverages of the adult nature and hors d'oeuvres until the reception line is done, if you'd like to get something. I can't possibly leave before all of the toasts and the cutting of the cake, so we may be here a while. I still can't believe Bobby got you to come, what did he do, promise you our first born son or something? Though that might be a bit awkward. Perhaps we can renegotiate terms if that ever comes to fruition. Or dear, there I go again, chattering on," a self-deprecating chuckle escaped his lips, "Let me introduce you to my cousin, Sarah Williams, hailing all the way from Philadelphia." Charlie whipped out his for-decoration-only kerchief and mopped the perspiration from his brow, just now realizing how warm the room had gotten and how standing so close to Jareth was making him even more nervous than usual.

The moment that Sarah and Jareth's eyes met for the first time, there was a flash of recognition, then it was gone. Both were left with an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu that they had met before, or that they had connected in some way prior to this meeting. But, as is the nature of déjà vu, they chose not to mention the feeling to one another and hoped that a prior meeting or some other connection would be made clear to them.

"Jareth, thank you for coming." Sarah extended her hand for a firm handshake, after all, it is the twenty-first century, women aren't supposed to curtsy, right? And, even so, she was sure she wouldn't be able to get back up if she did curtsy, for her legs had been replaced with wet spaghetti noodles.

"Sarah. A pleasure to meet you." Jareth lightly grasped her hand and, almost predictably, turned it over to kiss the back of it. The brief touching of his lips to her skin was electrifying and Sarah took a sudden deep breath to cover her apprehension.

"Enjoy the reception." Sarah reclaimed her hand and, rather childishly, put it behind her back where his lips would be nowhere near it.

"Oh, I will. And I'll be sure to find you later. Sarah." He let his gaze linger just a moment on her lips, and Sarah resisted the urge to wet them in response. Jareth abruptly nodded at Charlie and strolled away as if he had not been affected as Sarah.

"So, you two know each other?" Charlie whispered to Sarah with a knowing grin, winking suggestively, and then turned away to greet the next round of guests before she could formulate a proper response.


	3. Three

AN: Of course I own nothing.

The previously dragging reception line seemed to move in hyper-speed now as Sarah struggled with herself over the very brief meeting with Jareth. No man should affect her in such a way on first glance and even if they'd met before, that previous meeting could not have been overly significant, because she didn't remember where they'd met!

"Where could I have possibly met a man such as that? And from New Hampshire of all places! I've only been there once in my life and that was to stop for gas on the way to Canada!" Sarah muttered to herself, stopping abruptly when Charlie started to chuckle at her consternation.

"Oh, just shut it, or I'll tell Karen that you're thinking of having kids with Bobby. Then you won't be able to get away from her for hours. Actually, I might do that anyway." The vengeful child in Sarah demanded that she retaliate with a threat to his manhood and she responded quite willingly.

"You wouldn't!" Charlie gasped, his eyes getting wide at the mere thought of Karen getting into his family business.

"Try me." Sarah resisted the overwhelming urge to stick out her tongue.

"Fine, I'll stop. For now."

Ten minutes later, the reception line was complete, Karen and Robert had left to change into their second set of clothes (or, at least, that's what they said they were doing) and Sarah was trying to unsuccessfully maneuver into a simple sundress in the cramped bathroom stall. Her feet were already singing her praises as they were without encumberment, but the hussy red dress she had just taken off was taking up half of the stall (the toilet taking up the other half) and she was coming to realize it's rather difficult to put on clothing while standing at a 90 degree angle.

"C'mon you stupid zipper, work with a girl, would you? Please? I'll promise not to break you when I stuff my face with cake. And wine. And little hot dogs. Oh how I love those little hot dogs, they're so warm and delicious, the wrapping is always crispy and a little buttery. Oh dear. C'mon c'mon c'mon! Help me out here!" The zipper had responded to her loving description of food and decided to stay stuck somewhere between her fourth and fifth thoracic vertebrae.

"Fine! Be that way! I'll get someone else to deal with you!" She slipped on the ever-so-comfortable flats, stuffed the dress into the bag, and gathered up the rest of her paraphernalia, her dress gaping open, but, at this point, she didn't care in the least. She'd find Karen just across the hall in the bride's changing room and have her zip it for her; besides, she had to get over there anyway to deposit the bridesmaid dress.

It would seem in the nine years since Sarah had endured, solved, and mentally shelved the Labyrinth nothing seemed to work out for her. She just barely passed high school, even though she was a bright girl, the only college that accepted her was a dinky college in Delaware, and then the only job she could find was in Philadelphia (well, a suburb of Philadelphia, but it's always best to give a large landmark than a small one). Small things never went they were supposed to – if she were baking a cake for someone other than herself or Toby, the cake would come out awful every single time. If she got lost and had to make an illegal U-turn (something notorious for the city of brotherly love) there was always a cop around. And, with out fail, if she was running late for anything everyone and their great grandmother decided that this was the prime time to drive, walk, crawl, protest, march, have a parade, or skip in the path of where she needed to go.

Of course Sarah wasn't thinking of these nine years of bad luck. She was thinking of those little hotdogs, knowing that many others loved them as much as she did – so there would be less (or none, heaven forbid!) if she didn't hurry. For a long time afterward she would blame those little hotdogs for the events following.

"Ungh." Sarah pulled the heavy door of the ladies room open with an unladylike grunt, as she juggled her duffel, her strappy shoes from hell, and the bridesmaid dress, all while holding the front of her gown close to her breasts – no need to flash the priest and give Grandma Josephine's gossip any validation, of course.

"May I help you with something, Sarah?" A masculine whisper came from the right of the door, practically in her ear. Sarah, of course, shrieked and dropped everything, just barely managing to hold on to her dignity (and dress front).

"I'm sorry, do you watch horror movies!? Could you at least talk in a normal tone of voice, instead of whispering! I thought you wielding a bloody axe, or at the very least a machete for a second there! What's wrong with you!?" The adrenaline from the moment before suddenly drained out of her, as she realized her stalker was none other than Jareth Kavanagh, leaning against the wall, arms and ankles crossed, as if he'd been there a while, waiting for his moment.

"Sorry to scare you, next time I'll be sure to yell or flash a bright light, in case you go temporarily deaf. Wouldn't want to startle you. Now, do you need assistance?" He pulled himself away from the wall and stepped closer to Sarah's still frozen frame.

Well, Sarah, it's now or never, I suppose.

"Yes, you may assist me. I need the back of my dress zipped." With that, she turned around, gathered her long hair in her hand and presented her half-bare back to him.

Jareth stood stunned for a moment. He was under the impression that Sarah was a shy and formal girl and this act of vulnerability was almost overwhelming. He, of course, played his part in the Aboveground world, never revealing his true kingly nature, but he hadn't stooped to play dressing maid to anyone, as there were servants for that sort of thing.

But this Sarah was asking him to see to her garments. And was expecting him to do so!

"Why, yes, of course. Let me help you with that." Jareth rubbed his hands together and approached the girl, fully intending to start his seduction now, rather than later as he planned on first sight.

Instead of quickly fixing the broken zipper with a touch of magic, he grasped the small tab and gently worked it down farther, on the pretense of releasing the caught fabric.

"Hey, hey, hey, buddy. The zipper goes up, not down! Don't make me get my father!" Sarah gasped in surprise as she felt the gap of her dress widen.

"Oh, trust me, you don't want to go get your father right now, he's indisposed at the moment." Sarah's immediate response to Jareth's quiet comment was to blush. Unfortunately, Sarah was a fair-skinned girl.

"All right, point taken. Can you just finish up, please?"

"Now, Sarah you wouldn't want me to tear your lovely dress, would you?" Jareth said teasingly while he smoothly zipped up the dress, sensing that the girl was embarrassed about something or another and didn't want to prolong the encounter at her discomfort. He did, after all, intend on pursuing her later that evening, why spoil the chase so early on?

"Do you need help carrying your things?" He inquired quietly, stooping to pick up her forgotten dress shoes and bags.

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you for your help." She reached for her bags and shoes, but did not raise her eyes to his, the blush of her skin still persistent, her embarrassment evident. Jareth released her belongings without argument, nodded his head and turned on his heel.

"Oh God, I need to get out of here." Sarah muttered as she pushed into the now-empty bridal dressing room.

"Just have to get through the toasts and a few songs…and hour, at the tops."


	4. Four

AN: Thanks to all my reviewers! As a heads up, most of the following chapters are rather short, I'll try to get them up in a timely fashion. Thanks for reading

AN2: Of course I own nothing.

The DJ was an ass. That's all Sarah kept thinking as she stood next to her father and stepmother, Charlie flanking the couple on the other side, a forced grin on her face. He was supposed to simply introduce the bridal party, not make jokes that went out of style in the 1980s ("What is Ronald Reagan's favorite pick-up line at a bar?...Do I come here often?"). Ten more seconds and Sarah was going to throw a shrimp fork at the DJ's big forehead.

"And that's it for me, for now! Please take part of the buffet line, while I play you some of the ultimate buffet man, Jimmy Buffett!" Sarah rolled her eyes – the man can't even rhyme! Strains of Margaritaville played inappropriately as the guests swooped to the food area.

The church's vestibule area was rather small, so the caterer had set up shop there, a buffet style meal, and the reception was out in the lawn area. The oppressive summer heat had somewhat receded as the day had gone on and now that it was late afternoon, it was still warm, but not as awful. The guests were mingling and covertly checking out the place settings for their name cards. The wait staff was circling with plates of dainty hors d'oeuvres, the formerly towering plate of mini hotdogs was now a piddling handful. Thankfully, Sarah had a plate and was standing somewhat off from the crowd, managing to look graceful as she shoveled hot dogs into her mouth at an alarming rate.

"Hello Sarah, how are things in the North? Get much weather there?" Grandma Josephine's daughter, Aunt Gabriella, had parked her frail frame next to Sarah, deciding that it was her duty to keep the girl out of any trouble that might come her way.

"Just fine Aunt Gabriella. We get our fair share of weather, of course. It's quiet up there, compared to here where there's family on every block."

"Hmm. Are you saying that you don't like your step-mother's family? Haven't we taken you in like you were our own? After all, your daddy did steal her and take her up North for a good number of years! Why, I didn't get to see your brother until he was almost six! For shame!" Sarah could see that Gabriella was getting worked up and decided to diffuse the situation…and, while she was at it, put a stop to the rumors of her discontent with this family.

"No, no Aunt Gabriella. That isn't what I meant at all! You know that for the longest time it was just Dad and me, then Karen married Dad and brought her whole family with her! It's a lot to adjust to, going from having one family member, to having a whole town for kin. I love that I now have such a large and loving family, it can just be overwhelming sometimes. As for Karen and I, we've worked out our differences. You'll see, I wrote my toast thinking to clear the air with the family." Sarah nodded firmly, noting that Gabriella was looking less peeved and more curious about the toast.

"Well, it's just as well that your daddy and Karen had their renewal ceremony down here – you know my husband, your Uncle Jeremiah, can't travel very far these days. Why, he was as pleased as punch to be able to see his dear niece Karen married! Seeing as how y'all had the wedding up there so many years ago, it was nice to bring it down here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I seem some iced tea that looks mighty wet and in need of some friendship." With her tempers assuaged and adult beverages on the horizon, Aunt Gabriella was gone within moments.

"Well that turned out great." Sarah muttered, just now realizing that her hot dogs were no longer appealing, as told by her protesting stomach. Fickle organ.

She deposited her plate in the garbage and began to make the cursory rounds required of her, stopping by nearly every conversation to say hello and to make sure that everyone was having a good time. While Karen may not have been the Robin Williams super mom Sarah wanted, she had taught her a few things and taking care of one's guests was one of them. Sarah made her way to the front table, just now realizing that the buffet line was open and Karen and Robert had found their seats, looking only a little mussed.

"Oh, Sarah, come sit down, we're going to start with the toasts in a few minutes. Robert will go grab us a few plates from the buffet." Karen spoke up as Sarah approached the table.

"The ceremony was beautiful Karen, I'm so glad you decided to have it down here with the rest of the family. It doesn't seem like a wedding without everyone in attendance, does it?" Sarah took her seat to the left of Karen, quickly scanning the guest tables for signs of Jareth. When she noticed that he was surrounded by a group of attractive female wedding guests, she made a mental note to avoid that area of the grounds like it was the Plague. No need to further that awkward relationship. Besides, she had to be on her plane in a few hours anyway.

"You think so? I was worried that there might have been too many people, but it turned out nice, I suppose. Oh, I called Toby at home; he's doing all right, playing his video games, of course. Mrs. Hanson had to run back to her house for a minute, but she's still set to spend the weekend so Robert and I can go on our honeymoon to Florida. I'm sorry you couldn't spend the weekend, but because you haven't had the chicken pox before, we don't want you to get infected, of course. Oh, here's Robert with our food. Doesn't it look delicious?" It was clear that Karen was overly stimulated with the huge crowd of guests, she was talking fast and her eyes were watching the crowd with a gleam of excitement and Sarah couldn't help but sit back and smile.

Karen had become a different sort of stepmother as Toby got older, more relaxed with the treatment of her children. With the dissolution of Karen's stiffness, and Sarah's adventure in the Labyrinth, their relationship had improved gradually. It helped that Sarah decided to go to college in Delaware and her family moved to Louisiana – distance had changed their relationship to one of the easy camaraderie of telephone conversations and funny email forwards. Because of this, Sarah was able to smile and joke with Karen, for the most part, and not whisper snide comments under her breath as she might have a few years before.

Sarah's brief moment of musing was broken by her father putting a plate of chicken cacciatore and twice baked potatoes in front of her.

"Sorry, honey, you'll have to go hunt up your own champagne, or hold out until the waiter comes around again." Richard said as he sat on the other side of his wife, gracing her cheek with a light peck of hello.

No big deal, Sarah thought, the toasting wasn't for a few more minutes yet, she'd be able to hold out. Now if she could eat all this starch without a drink of anything, it'd be amazing.

"I'll be right back; I've got to find some water or something." Her parents looked up and nodded, but went back to a very close conversation. Now, where was that friendly waiter when you needed him?


	5. Five

"…and that is why I love my Aunt Karen!" Charlie finished his lackluster (and last minute) toast to half-hearted clapping, most of the guests too focused on their food, the wait staff overwhelmed by the dirty dishes.

"Good luck Sarah, tough crowd out there." Charlie whispered as he handed her the microphone, clearly relieved to be done with the best man toasting.

"Thanks." Sarah said dryly, clearing her throat and looking out over the crowd.

Yeah, that's not going to work. They don't care about this toast, heck it's not even for them, Sarah thought, her nervousness slipping away with the realization. She turned and faced her parents, half turning away from the crowd.

"Dad. Karen. You know that I wasn't always on board with your marriage, but, as time goes on, I've come to realize that you two are a matched set and are meant for each other. You complement each other in everything you do and your love for each other is clear to anyone with eyes."

Jareth stared thoughtfully at Sarah's profile from his seat at a family-filled table towards the back, near the buffet tables. She seemed mature beyond her years and, strangely, even more familiar some how as he watched her speak earnestly to her parents.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't the best daughter to deal with, growing up. I know that I was more childish that most, with my whining 'it's not fair' and silly quoted play lines of rebellion."

Sarah smiled and turned to the crowd as an aside. "Most of you don't remember, but I used to want to be an actress when I was younger. I would run around, repeating lines from plays in an awful, over dramatic manner and, of course, my favorite line was from The Labyrinth, and it fit quite well with my teenage rebellious years."

She struck a dramatic pose, "Dad, Karen," pause "You. Have. No. Power. Over. Me." The crowd chuckled, appreciative of her demonstrative manner. All except one. He sat, his face revealing nothing, but his thoughts racing.

"See what a silly child I was? I'm glad that I was able to grow up quickly, over night, really, and I've grown to love Karen as my own mother. It's with a light heart that I congratulate you two on your marriage and I wish you happiness for all the rest of your days." She raised her champagne glass with her left hand and turned toward the crowd, silently commanding them to rise to their feet and cheer the couple's marriage.

Of course, most people don't stand up to toast the bride and groom, but the guests (even the Kimballs) felt compelled to put down their forks and raise their glasses in congratulations by Sarah's unspoken directive.

"Mazel tov!" A slightly slurred shout came from the back of the room, accompanied by nods and smiles. The guests separated into individual conversations, the somewhat stilted and uncomfortable silence created by Sarah's toast quickly dissipated and was subsequently forgotten. But not by Jareth, of course. He filed the information on Sarah's gift of persuasion to be analyzed later and sat back down, careful to not make eye contact with Aunt Gabriella, as she had decided to drink her fair share of iced tea and had a tendency to chatter on. And on. And on.


	6. Six

AN: I'm not so happy with the last few chapters (and neither is my beta...she's been bugging me to change them for months now), so it might be a little longer than expected for an update. Sorry in advance!

AN2: I own nothing.

Sarah had decided to stay on for a while, longer than her anticipated hour of music and toasts. This could be in part to the generous amount of champagne she had consumed (just something about those bubbles...), or also that she'd found it hard to drag herself away from Karen's large and friendly family. After wandering from group to group for a good bit of time, she sat at table not far from the wedding party table. She had learned more about her stepmother's family in a half hour of sitting quietly next to the Aunts (Karen's aunts, that is) than she had in all the years that she had known Karen. It pleased her to know that Karen's family really did like Robert and that they thought of Sarah as another niece (or another derivative of a relative). It made her chortle with laughter at their scandalous assessment of Charlie's date, as he was dressed so well, but declined all dance offers (both male and female) and sat, rather childishly, toward the back, close to the nearly empty buffet tables.

"Sarah, would you be a dear and fetch me a glass of iced tea? It would seem that I've misplaced my shoe and I can't find it anywhere! I'd rather not have to hobble all the way over there just to get some sweet tea." Aunt Gabriella leaned in close to Sarah, her eyes wide and innocent and she surreptitiously kicked off her right shoe so that it landed just out of reach.

"Sure, Aunt Gabriella, I'll be right back. Would anyone else like some more tea?" Sarah was no fool -- it was quite obvious that this was more than just sweet Southern tea, but most of the wedding guests were sucking it back like it had been made fresh the morning of the wedding.

"Oh no, dear, we couldn't possibly have any more. Could you, perhaps, send one of the waiters 'round so we can get a whole pot of coffee?" Aunt Edna (the nice one) said softly with a small smile.

As Sarah made her way to the refreshment table, she noticed that tiki torches had been lit, and, as the day had slipped quietly into dusk, the wedding party's numbers had dwindled. There were a few tables still full with family, but most of the small children were gone. The DJ's awfulness had also faded into soft background music, ideal for slow dancing couples (of which Robert and Karen where fans), so the lawn was much more peaceful than it was a few hours previous.

"Hi, can I get some of the iced tea, please?" It was a clear sign that this was no ordinary iced tea when it had to be ordered from the bartender, but Sarah continued to play along, dispensing the tea back at the family table and flitting off to find a waiter.


	7. Seven

AN: Sorry for the delay, the ending looks quite a bit different _now_ than it did a week ago. The upcoming chapters aren't so short, are a little more cohesive, and there will be more plot movement. Thanks for reviewing!

AN2: Sorry (again) for another short chapter -- this is setting up for the next step in the plot, please forgive me!

Jareth knew he was the subject of the aunts' giggling gossip. If the blatant stares and pointing fingers weren't a dead give away, the intermittent bursts of laughter and odd moments of choking on tea helped to affirm his knowledge.

He, however, unlike most guests at weddings, had no problem in being talked about. Heck, as King of the Goblins, his actions and person likely made up the majority of the few thoughts and intelligible conversations his people had on a daily basis; four ladies discussing his sexual orientation was nothing in comparison.

The table he had been assigned to had cleared out pretty quickly as the buffet offerings dwindled and the DJ hit several very off songs, so he sat alone, nursing a glass of water (yes, really, water) and covertly studying the maid of honor. Something about her seemed so familiar and he was drawn to her, his eyes rarely leaving her feminine form, even as she bustled around the reception area, giving his eyes quite a work out.

His head began to pound, rather like running into a brick wall head-first, knowing that there was something very important on the other side that couldn't wait to be discovered by walking around the wall. It was if he was forgetting something and it had to do with the girl.

The Girl.

His attention was very abruptly drawn away from his thoughts by a scuffle at the front of the church. Charlie was being shoved by a very short little man with a big nose (quite noticeable from the distance), his hands up defensively, obviously trying to not provoke the aggressive little man.

"You tell me where 'e is right NOW! And I ain't takin' no for an answer!" The shouted demand was punctuated by another shove, the little man getting more agitated by the moment.

"I think you should leave. You can talk to him tomorrow, he hasn't hurt anyone or done anything. He's just sitting, having a drink quietly. You need to give him a longer leash, else he'll get suspicious, Hog--" Charlie cut his response off short, realizing that the argument may be overheard. In actuality, only Jareth overheard his furiously whispered comments (something about that Fae hearing -- no ozone in the Underground to dampen sound waves and all that).

Something mentally clicked for Jareth, time stopped on a pin.

The little man was Hoggle, the garden dwarf, wearing a glamor.

A Glamor.

Only he, King of the Goblins, was allowed to a glamor Aboveground. Only he, King of the Goblins, even had a 'Get out of Jail Free' card from his kingdom.

Hoggle had some explaining to do.

And he would start now.


	8. Eight

AN: of course I own nothing. Sorry (again, again) for the short chapter. Stylistically, this was the place to stop. However, I'll post the second half to this chapter shortly, so there really won't be much wait. I hope.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite subject. Hogwart." Jareth hissed, his voice contained and ominously threatening. In the moment of paused recognition, he willed himself the short distance to altercation.

"Uh, Jareth, we should go somewhere less ... conspicious." Charlie said lowly, his hand out to restrain the infuriated Goblin King. The last thing they would need would be to draw attention.

Jareth nodded brusquely, impatiently waving the door to the main hall open and preceding the group inside.

"Explain. Now." The moment the doors slammed closed Jareth turned to his subject, his glamor dropping. He crossed his arms and his chin rose so that he was looking down his nose at the gardener, his appearance now matching his customary haughty demeanor.

Charlie stepped forward, all but shielding the dwarf from Jareth's rage, one hand reached out to prevent Jareth's forward movement. "Now, see, Jareth, Hoggle and I go way back. I once had a dreadful problem with my petunias, something about 'too much water', and he was very generous with his time and knowledge. We have met on occasion since then, for about ten years now."

There was a pregnant pause as Jareth brooded over the explanation. He could feel the interrupted thoughts from just minutes earlier clamoring for attention in his brain, somehow managing to briefly surface in context for this discussion.

_Very generous._

Jareth's eyes narrowed, looking closer at Charlie, puzzling out why that phrase even drew his attention. But of course, that was neither here nor there at this point; he had a subject to hear an accounting from. He waved his hand and Charlie was nudged out of the way.

"Why are you here now? How did you come to be here?" Hoggle was busy studying the floor as it if held the answers to the meaning of life with his back to the massive church doors. At Jareth's pointed question, he began to nervously twist his his gnarled hands together. How much could he say while still preserving The Secret?

"Well? Speak quickly, or you'll be thrown in the sewage run-off for the Bog!" The recent influx of Bog inhabitants had increased the need for a sewage run off -- it had become the newest threat in Jareth's arsenal and was quite effective, he'd found. Jareth began to pace up and down the aisle, his tailcoat flying behind him, just barely missing overdone flowers attached to each pew. If the dwarf refused to answer, he would throw him away, perhaps cast him into an oubliette and dismiss the entire matter. But what if something were wrong in the Labyrinth? Hogmart's appearance could be an ill omen of things to come.

"Well, yer Majesty, I's came lookin' for Charlie here to ask 'im a question. Yes, yes that's why i's here!" Jareth abruptly stopped his pacing at the blatant lie. At the King's apparent disbelief, the dwarf began to shake, now twisting a bracelet of a sort instead of his hands, as if it were a tailsman or a precious gift. He began to stalk angrily towards the dwarf, his hand just beginning to form a crystal as he approached.

"You DARE to lie to me, you little miscreant -- " The weight of the impending threat was lost, as Jareth's tailcoat snagged on a bouquet of pew flowers. If it had been anyone but the Goblin King, a fae of awesome power and presence, what happened next might have been comical. But it wasn't.

As Jareth's forward momentum kept him moving forward, stalking towards his subject, the tailcoat provided opposite resistance, jerking the fae backwards with such force that the King lost his footing. In slow motion to any observer, his feet flew out from under him and his skull cracked on the thinly carpeted aisle.

He wasn't moving.


	9. Nine

AN: I own nothing. And, look!, this is longer! Though I can't promise much as far as the humor goes...it's never good to force these things.

AN2: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, the little hints/insights really do help to tweak the plot!

"Oh no. Crap, crap, crap. Quickly, Hoggle, get a wet towel from the bathroom. Don't dawdle!" Charlie was already in motion as he saw Jareth moving quickly horizontal, directly Hoggle as he rushed toward the fallen King.

"If he isn't dead, he's going to hate us for this. Again. What is it with this man and his head? You'd think he'd start to wear a helmet on an every day basis just to get through a week! Stupid laws of gravity." As Charlie knelt and began to check for breathing (yep, check), check for bleeding (nope, check), and check for signs of internal trauma (uh, he wasn't really trained in medical emergencies, Jareth would just have to be happy that he knew to check for breathing), he muttered to keep himself from panicking.

Panicking wasn't out of the question, considering what had happened the last time the King had been cracked in the skull. He managed to forget some ... important ... things.

"Here is what I found. I don't know how they get dry up here, if this is what they got." Hoggle handed Charlie a sodden toilet tissue roll, thankfully unused (though he wasn't going to ask how it managed to get wet so thoroughly in such a short amount of time).

"Thanks, Hoggle. He's still breathing, so maybe he'll be ok?" Charlie passed the wet material over Jareth's wrists and neck, hoping to revive him before the situation could become dire.

"I told you, you should have never brought 'im to this wedding. Things could only get bad, 'specially with the Girl bein' here." Hoggle took a place on the other side of Jareth, kneeling at his side, but not touching him (quite for obvious reasons). If he could have gotten home at this point he would have. To pack. Then to find a nice oubliette to hide in for the rest of his miserable life.

Stupid rips in the fabric of time, constantly repairing themselves and making travelers wait for another rip to appear.

"Blame this on Bobby. He was thinking that Jareth would remember once he saw her and they'd live happily ever after. Silly romantic." Charlie was still dabbing the tissue on Jareth, now wiping his pale face.

"Hoggle, I need you to stay with the King. I have to go send the Girl away, just in case... Say nothing about what happened last time, if he wakes, just make sure that he's comfortable and can send himself back to the Labyrinth. I'll be back soon." He unfolded his frame from the floor and hurried out, just now realizing how very exposed their group had been inside the church. He could only hope that no one walked in on the remaining two.

* * *

Hoggle crouched, not saying anything, holding his breath in hopes of not disturbing his King, for a full minute before he could take it no longer. He poked Jareth in the cheek (much like babies do when they're trying to be affectionate and get attention) with a stubby finger. Unfortunately, he left a bit of a dirt smudge. And the King's eyes flew open.

"Why, pray tell, am I lying on the floor?" Jareth's voice wasn't as strong as it had been just five minutes prior, but he was still angry.

"There was an accident, yer Majesty." That was all Hoggle could get out before the prostrate fae became vertical.

"Where are the others? The _traitors_ that helped the Girl? I do believe that I called all three of you for sentencing." Some of the acerbic bite in Jareth's tone was lost as he gingerly touched the back of his head, coming away blood free, thankfully. Fae are quick healers, of course, but even for a King a five minute recovery time may be asking a bit much.

"The ... others, sir?" Hoggle knew. He just _knew_ that the King was back, his temporary amnesia gone and all good humor that had sprung up over the past decade was lost in an instant.

"Don't play games with me, dwarf. My castle is in pieces, the goblins can barely push two stones back into place without dropping one of them ... " He trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. This wasn't his castle, there were no broken stones littering the floor, and there was a sodden roll of Aboveground toilet tissue dampening the carpet near where he had been lying. The tissue was dismissed as a flashback seized his sorely softened brain.

* * *

Didymus, Hoggle, and Ludo stood before their King, their hands (or paws, in some instances) were bound in front of them and each knelt before the throne where their King lounged. Hoggle was glaring sullenly at the floor, Didymus attempting to meet the gaze of the Goblin King from under his bushy eyebrows and Ludo was staring straight up the castle turret, a befuddled look in his eyes. Far above their heads, goblins were repairing the damage from the Girl's running of the Labyrinth.

Jareth's eyes were half closed as he watched Sarah share a meal with her family in one of his crystals. He had allowed her her one night of celebration with his subjects so she would realize that he could be fair and maybe she would change her mind. But of course, this was of no consequence, even though he was fated to fall in love with her, her selfish and cruel free will got in the way every time.

As she laughed at the antics of her little brother, who was covered in red goo, he burst the crystal, enraged at the unfairness of the situation. _He _should be the one sharing meals with her, making her laugh. His heart was tied to a mere slip of a girl, a girl who could have been queen, and she had the _right_ to deny him!

"You three will pay for your interference with this runner." His voice was low and gave the impression of extreme anger, even though he was irritated at their involvment, he knew it couldn't be helped -- they were fated to be loyal to their future queen, just as he was fated to love her. He dramatically paused, mentally rifling through his file of odious punishments. Perhaps for these three, they could do something that suited their talents and would, ultimately, benefit himself. He stood and walked down the few steps to where they knelt.

"Because you like to interfere, I will send you -- " The weight of the impending threat was lost, as Jareth's voice was cut off.

Goblins, never the best or most coordinated masons, thought throwing heavy rocks at each other (especially at beasts such as Ludo, who threw them back) was a great and amusing past time while they worked to repair the castle. Goblins also lack a great deal of intelligence and foresight in most situations. While thinking Ludo would be receptive to a little game of 'stone catch', they didn't realize that they had not even the slightest hope of accuracy in their stone-dropping. Or that the King liked to pace.

The King landed on his backside, his polished shoes slipping on spilled ale, his head cracking on the uncarpeted stone floor.

"Quickly, Hoggle, fetch a towel." The little fox immediately wriggled out of his bindings (of course he would not have removed them a moment earlier, it would not have been chivalrous to expose another's poor skill at knot tying) and untied his compatriots before hurrying to the King's side. Hoggle scampered off to parts unknown, only to return quickly with a soaked and dripping pea green cloth.

"I say, this cloth smells like ale and chicken sweat! Wherever did you find it?" Didymus decided that it would be inappropriate to call Ambrosius in to affectionately clean the King's face, so he swabbed the foul smelling cloth at the King's temples and wrists.

"Never you mind, just get the King to wake up!" The goblins above had stopped their work and had disappeared, fearing the wrath of the King when he woke. If he woke.

Ludo sat down unceremoniously were he stood, staring at the two smaller people in disbelief. "King sleep? Not send Ludo away?"

"Why, brother Ludo, the King would never send us away! The worst he would do would be to make us scrub the markings the Girl put on the flagstones in the slate maze. I heard that they have to prepare a special mixture of ale and special brushes to remove those marks. The Brownies were most unhappy with her ingenuity!" The knight took a deep breath, ready to regale all listeners of stories of the Girl's ingenuity, and was distracted from his intention by a weak moan from the King.

Jareth slowly opened his eyes, taking a deep cleansing breath. Then he realized he was laying on his not-too-clean floor, surrounded by three of his favorite subjects. Well, that might be stretching it. They weren't his _least_ favorite, if he were to classify favorites. Which he didn't. He did try to be fair, of course.

"Tell me, why are you three here? Don't you have jobs to do? And why does my roof have holes in it? What have those blasted goblins been up to this time?!" Jareth carefully sat up, his head now only a little sore.

His subjects stared at him incredulously, unsure of what to say in response to his apparently forgetfulness. Didymus cleared his throat and stepped forward, preventing his companions from saying anything.

"Well, your Majesty, there was a terrible storm last night. You were going to toast it with some of the Goblin ale, perhaps that hath affected thy humor?" Didymus made the comment in the form of a question, feeling his way around the extent of the King's amnesia.

"Oh. Well. I suppose you three should get back to where you once came from; I will be calling on you in the near future. I think I had something I wanted you to do, but I can't remember now." Jareth walked carefully to his throne, as if one hungover. All these side effects, but not even an impression of a good time. He would have to seek out better company for his drunken adventures.

* * *


	10. Ten

AN: Of course, as per usual, I own nothing

AN2: Sorry, Jareth's a bit OOC and I'm a little too lazy to re-edit. Again.

The silent church reverberated with the echoes of recollection.

"Why, Hoggle? Ten years you let me drift. Tell me why you kept this from me." The Goblin King asked Hoggle softly, his mood a clear indication that something had shifted within him. He called Hoggle by his true name, rather than joking as he always had.

Hoggle sat on the floor next to the King, who had propped himself against a pew, one leg pressed to his chest, his forehead in his hands. He couldn't explain their motivation. Looking at the King as he sat dejected, Hoggle felt petty and small, his reasoning selfish.

"It was for Sarah. Always for Sarah. We didn't want you to hurt her, so we went all went along with Didymus's plan and made it 'the Secret'. We were never to talk about what had happened so that maybe you would always forget. But you ended up here. Of all places in the world, you ended up here." Charlie had slipped in, just in time to answer Jareth.

"How do you even know about Sarah, Charlie? I met Bobby in a bar, just after...Oh, of course. I've been played from the very beginning." Jareth visibly pulled himself together, no longer pitying himself quite so obviously. He stood up, looking down at the two seated on the floor, and stripped off his outer coat so that he could pace. No accidents this time (he hoped).

"I had left the Castle that very same night. The night after I had lost Sarah. I had gone to a bar Aboveground, seeking intelligent company with whom to drink. Although the beer was awful, the atmosphere was much like drinking with my goblins, with the exception of no property damage. Well, no damage to my property. I had returned the next week to try a new bar, this one called 'Lovely Rita's'. This is where I met your boyfriend, Bobby, isn't that right, Charlie? Was that intentionally set up, too? Was I guided to that bar on that particular night?" Jareth stopped his furious pacing, his eyes going wide with embarrassing memories from that night.

As one might guess, Lovely Rita's was not a 'traditional' bar. How Jareth ended up there was a bit fuzzy, but he was rather popular amongst its patrons and was immediately accepted into the fold. That is, until a rough Popeye look-a-like decided that he wanted to do more than conversate. Now, Jareth is the Goblin King with powers beyond the human imagination, but, as most species who can get inebriated, regardless of substance, those powers were dampened at the time.

Bobby, Charlie's boyfriend, had been a bouncer at the bar then, trying to make extra money to pay off student loans. At six foot four, two hundred and forty pounds, Bobby was no lightweight and he quickly ended the impending altercation. Jareth, unfortunately,_ was_ somewhat of a lightweight when it came to American beer, as awful as it tastes, and was not well enough to take himself home. Bobby convinced him to take the couch at Bobby and Charlie's apartment.

In doing so he had made a friend for life. They became friends, though they had nothing in common, and had remained so over the past decade.

"We were afraid you would remember while you were in your cups up here, so we got Bobby to play along. He, of course, told Charlie." Hoggle startled Jareth out of his reverie. The Goblin King mask was in place, his face remained emotionless even as his stomach plummeted to his toes. He hadn't a friend in the world, the love of his life had free will, and he was in the middle of Louisiana. Could this day get any worse?

"I don't know why we agreed to go along with a dwarf, a talking fox, and a huge monster, but we did. For Sarah. There's something about her, even though we've never met her, that inspires loyalty. We're sorry Jareth, we had no idea that you lo--"

"Stop. Just stop. We take this no further." Jareth efficiently pulled on his overcoat, Hoggle and Charlie hurrying to stand before Jareth summoned two crystals, one in each hand. Oddly, the crystals were not perfectly cylindrical, as they usually were. Something was off. He turned to face Hoggle, first, his entire aura one of power and commanding force.

"You, Hoggle, are to never set foot in the Labyrinth again. You will tend your gardens, piss in your lake, kill your faeries, but I will never see your face again." Jareth dropped the crystal from his left hand at Hoggle's feet, ignoring the dismayed and saddened look on Hoggle's face.

"Charlie. Though I thought we were friends, we were obviously not. You and your Bobby will not remember me after midnight tonight. At this point, you will not remember the past twenty minutes and we will exit this wedding shortly. After I get a dance. With my Sarah." Jareth dropped the second crystal, again ignoring the feeble protest and disbelief from the one he thought was his friend.

Had it really only been twenty minutes? Had his world fallen down so quickly?

He would allow himself one last dance with Sarah, knowing that Charlie had spoken to her and she was going to leave shortly.

Then he would stop.

One can't die from a broken heart, can they?


	11. Eleven

AN: I own nothing.

AN2: This is turning out to be a bit longer than expected (uh, started off with six chapters and now I'm on 11...and I still have a few more to go!), but I'm glad that you all like it! Thanks to my reviewers!

"Can never find a waiter when you need one!" Sarah muttered to herself as she walked back toward the buffet tables, after making the rounds of the guest tables and seeing no one. Most certainly not an attractive blonde man with a lovely accent.

"Looking for something, Sarah?" Charlie appeared out of nowhere, surprising Sarah out of her intense searching.

"Jeez Louise, what is _with_ people scaring the crap out of me today? I swear, another surprise like that and I won't have to go to the bathroom for a week!" Sarah gasped, clutching her throat as she whirled to face Charlie. and then tottered sideways a few steps. He was, after all, standing a bit close. And she had had some tea. Enough said.

"Oh. Well then. Perhaps it'd be best to never mention bodily functions to me again, hmm? But anyway, were you looking for something, or have you just had too much punch? Or tea? Or both, I suppose? I see that the aunts have partaken, I guess you might have joined them as the festivities were settling down. You were kind of wandering aimlessly with this forlorn look on your face like you needed more tea." He knew he would have to act fast, in case Jareth woke and remembered, but he was nervous having this responsibility. Bobby had always done the actual intervening of keeping Jareth's memories locked away-- Charlie had had no practice. And, it was clear, Sarah was not safe if the Goblin King was in a rage. She was still too young and too innocent -- he would surely hurt her feelings, if not break her heart, if he remembered her run.

"You're kind of babbling there, my dear cousin. Nervous, much? Perhaps you've had a nice long conversation with your _date_, Jareth Kavanagh? I haven't seen him in a while, I almost thought he'd gotten lost in the swamp." Sarah laughed, trying for some humor, but her stomach had quickly turned sour at the nervous babbling and the thought of Charlie's date. The mere thought of that man just threw her for a loop, throwing her off kilter, causing her to entertain thoughts she'd never had before. It felt like something was going to happen...had maybe already happened and he was at the center of it.

"No, no, of course not. He got to talking with one of the wedding guests and they wandered off over there somewhere." He gestured with his hand carelessly, and yet carefully directing Sarah's attention away from the church. If he hadn't been looking at her at that exact moment he wouldn't have seen the brief look of disappointment that ran across her features at the mention of Jareth with someone else. He had to get her out of there...and fast. She was like tinder to Jareth's flame -- if the two were to cross at this point, there'd be one heck of a bonfire.

"Ah, well, your aunt sent me to see if you were going to leave soon and to remind you to say good-bye before you go." He thought the reasoning sounded logical, but he knew by Sarah's change of face that it wasn't so very plausible.

"Uh, she left twenty minutes ago...did you get lost on your way back from the men's or something? Or have _you_ had too much punch there, bucko?" Sarah willfully put her thoughts of Jareth away and tried to make light of the situation, lightly tapping Charlie's arm as she tried to make a joke.

"Well, it did take a little bit of doing to find you, I'm not even sure how long ago I talked to her! So when are you going? I think the aunts might need a ride if you're going their way..." Charlie trailed off to wave at the gossipers' table as they laughed loudly about some joke or other, skillfully turning the conversation away from awkward.

"They've certainly been entertaining today...one of the few things that have helped me keep my sanity and prevented me from running headfirst into the Bog of...er, well, the Swamp, of course."

_The Bog of what?!_ _Where the hell-o kitty did that come from!? _Sarah's eyes widened briefly. It was almost as if the thought had come from someone else. Or from her -- but subciously. As if something was lurking beneath the surface and was seeping through the cracks.

"They are rather eccentric ladies. Did you need help coordinating rides for them?" Charlie, very studiously, ignored the almost reference to the Underground. It was clear that the something was influencing Sarah's memories, perhaps springing the latch to the box she had created many years ago?

"No, I should be all right in getting them home. I'm sure they won't mind, or even remember in the morning, cramming into my little car. Besides, that way I can just shove them all out at the same time and have done with it. I'll get them some coffee first, and then we're outta here." Sarah turned away from Charlie, seeking a waiter with a renewed vengeance. Her seventh sense (sixth being the ability to know exactly when the microwave popcorn was done) was screaming at her that it was TIME TO GO. She rarely ignored that sense.

"All right then. Hey, if I don't see you before you go, don't be a stranger." Charlie pulled Sarah into a semi-awkward embrace, considering she was half turned away from him and he was still trying to ensure that she wasn't looking at the church, and released her quickly.

"Sounds like a plan. Catch ya later, Charlie. Hey, tell Jareth...uh...nevermind." She had almost made a fool of herself over a man she'd barely exchanged words with! Good thing Charlie had turned away by that point and had only briefly paused, his profile to her, as she trailed off.

He nodded and kept moving towards the church. Which was odd, as there was no one in the church. And the bathrooms were through the side entrance.

"Hmm, I wonder what he's up to." She had started to follow him her childlike sense of curiousity piqued, only to be stopped by a very tall, very imposing figure. Well, moreso stopped by his chest.

"Well, you must be Sarah", the Jolly Green Giant rumbled.


	12. Twelve

AN: Of course I own nothing...

AN2: Sorry for the delay, can anyone say "infected trachea" five times fast? Yeah, my doc didn't say it quite like that, but it was something ominous. Anyway, I should be back on track with this fic...I'm leaning towards two, perhaps three, more chapters. Thanks for continuing to read!

So maybe the brick wall Sarah had run into _wasn't_ the Jolly Green Giant. But he was big. And built like a brick house (well, the man version of a brick house). And he wore a green polo the _exact_ color of the Jolly Green Giant. It'd be an easy mistake for anyone, to be honest.

"Yes, I'm Sarah. You missed the grand introductions, I assume? And you are...?" She took a rather large step back, putting plenty of space between herself and the giant.

"I'm Bobby. From New Hampshire? Charlie's boyfriend?" He shook his sandy brown hair off of his forehead (to Sarah, two feet below, it looked as if God were fluffing a brown cloud) and offered his hand.

"Er, yes, he'd said you couldn't make it. Business or something, right?" She took his hand, shook it firmly once and immediately dropped it. Even knowing that he was involved with her cousin couldn't put her at ease. It was like he had appeared out of the shadows, cutting her off from pursuing Charlie.

_Charlie. What was he up to?_ Sarah thought, trying to nonchalantly peer around the giant as he offered his excuse.

"It was delayed and Charlie said it'd be fine to stop by anytime. What are you looking for, may I ask?" He leaned down to make eye contact, bringing an embarrassed flush to Sarah's cheeks as she realized she'd been caught.

"Charlie. He just headed towards the church and...I had a question for him." She couldn't very well tell Bobby that she thought Charlie was being shady without looking like a loon, now could she? She was rapidly losing interest in following Charlie, instead she wanted to leave the wedding reception; her seventh sense was again on high alert, having been momentarily bludgeoned into submission by Curiosity.

"But, never mind, I think I'll just send him an email later. It was nice to meet you, Bobby, I really must be on my way. Maybe I'll see you at the next family reunion?" Sarah started to inch backward, very aware the Bobby had a half-amused, half-startled look on his face in response to Sarah's quick turnabout.

"It's a good possibility. Did you need help gathering your ceremony clothes? From what Charlie told me, his Aunt Karen wouldn't have let you wear that dress to the ceremony, so I'm guessing you have a stash somewhere." He chuckled, putting Sarah more at ease.

"Well, I can go grab my things if you could find coffee for the aunts? I can't seem to find a waiter -- it's like they've all decided to play keep-away with me! Like little gob... Like little children!" Sarah chuckled nervously. This was the second time something slipped that seemed out of context with her brain patterns.

Bobby covertly, barely noticeable really, looked over at the church behind his back and turned to Sarah. "How about I gather your things? I've never been good at summoning waiters, myself..."

"Uh, no, that's all right, I'm perfectly capable of grabbing a bag of clothes. I'll be back in a jiffy, hopefully you'll be able to find a darn waiter before then! Check by the dumpsters, they're probably smoking...er...doing something back there. That was my next place to check. See ya soon, thanks, Bobby!" Sarah kept up a steady stream of dialogue as she expertly dodged around Bobby and headed toward the church at a fast clip.

It was clear that Bobby didn't want her to head to the church, but he was in no shape to stop her. The aunts had managed to leave their comfortable seats at the family table and wander over to where Bobby was standing.

"My, my, my, aren't you a handsome fellow? And talking to our Sarah! She's a pretty one, isn't she? I'm sure she'd make a lovely..."

Aunt Gabriella (Grandma Josephine's daughter) was abruptly cut off by loud, uncomfortable gagging by the giant. "No, no, ma'am, I'm Bobby. Charlie's partner. Though Sarah is a lovely girl and I'm sure she'd make someone a lovely something, but she's just not for me. So, er, how about we get you ladies settled and I'll get you some coffee. You should really leave the pitcher back at the table, ma'am, you wouldn't want to spill..."

Of course it was too late. And, of course, the half full pitcher of tea was now splashed over Bobby's sharply pressed khaki shorts and well tanned legs. It figured.

AN3: And, of course, thanks to my beta, sassquatch...taking the time to read this when she should be packing. Or doing something equally industrious. :)


	13. Thirteen

AN: I own nothing.

AN2: I'm feeling so much better...though I did write this and the next chapter while ill...but, anyway, enjoy! One chapter to go! I'll try to get that up before I go to Michigan this weekend...but no promises. Thanks to all my reviewers!

AN3: Just a teeny bit angsty. And Jareth is OOC. Sorry.

* * *

The church was quiet, dark, and cool, compared to the Louisiana night. Sarah stepped inside, letting the door swing shut as silently as possible (meaning: at least it didn't bang like a coffin lid).

As her eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness, she became aware of several things. First, she wasn't alone. Second, there appeared to be some sort of argument taking place in the center aisle, towards the altar, that hadn't slowed when she walked in the door. And, third, the Goblin King was dropping crystals as if they meant nothing to him.

The Goblin King.

Sarah gasped and grabbed her head as memories came back in a horrific tsunami of pain. She fell to her knees, cradling her head, tears leaking from her eyes and image upon image ran like a hyper speed movie reel behind her eyes. Images of the Labyrinth, horrible images of the Cleaners, of the Goblin City, of the Escher Room, of her friends Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ludo, and...images of him. Jareth, the Goblin King.

"Sarah. Sarah, please, open your eyes. Are you all right? Has something happened?" Slowly, words began to drift into her head as the image reel slowed and she could breathe again. Soft, whispered words that were accompanied by warm, inviting arms, wrapped around her as she clenched her eyes tightly shut.

"This can't be happening. Please, God, this can't be happening. I put you away! I shut the lid and threw away the key! You can't be here, you can't be real! Oh, God, I'm losing my mind!" Sarah whispered rapidly, her eyes still shut, refusing to acknowledge the man that held her so closely.

"Sarah. Sarah, what do you mean, you shut the lid? How is this that you don't remember me?" Jareth asked softly, knowing that she would have to eventually open her eyes. He did, after all, have eternity to wait.

Her eyelids cracked slightly, peering up to her captor, unshed tears waiting to be spilled in the corners. "I paid a man a good bit of money to take away those memories. You aren't supposed to be here, I'm not supposed to remember you...Jareth."

She closed her eyes in frustration, tears dripping down her cheeks in spite of her will that they remain. "I'm not supposed to remember. Why am I remembering?"

Jareth's expression hardened. She had actively pursued means to forget_ him_. To forget the Labyrinth.

"How could you choose to forget? As if your time in the Underground meant nothing?" The Goblin King's quick temper sparked Sarah's and she shoved out of his arms dragged herself to stand, using a church pew heavily for support.

"Why would I want to remember!? There was a beautiful and cruel man who supposedly loved a _child_..." She began to shake her finger at Jareth, finally able to release her frustrations to the person who was the cause of them.

"You were NOT a child when you were in the Labyrinth! Do NOT make this into something it is not, Sarah!" Jareth swept himself off the ground in order to tower over Sarah.

"I was FIFTEEN, Jareth! How could you possibly love a fifteen year old? I'd never knew love before, how could I possibly have loved you back?!" Sarah crossed her arms stubbornly, standing almost toe-to-toe with the Goblin King.

"We were DESTINED, Sarah! Do you understand that? I would have loved you if you had been ten years old and had come to the Labyrinth! If you had cared long enough to stay, you would have gone to live with my parents until you were old enough to marry! But of _course_ not, you had to have your way, you spoiled child!" The moment the words left his mouth, Jareth knew he'd gone too far.

"I swear, people need to stop calling me that, or I'm gonna blow a gasket." Sarah muttered through clenched teeth and turned away from Jareth, refusing to argue with him any more. Arguing served no purpose, especially between a mortal desk jockey and the King of Goblins. Did she really think he would love her and return for her after all these years?

This was the crux of the problem. This is why she bought magicks to put the memories of the Labyrinth away. It had been during her freshman year of college. She'd realized why none of the college boys attracted her -- she'd been ruined by the Goblin King. The one man she could never have. The one man who didn't want her. So she stuffed it all away, never to be brought to light again, hoping that she could have some semblance of a normal life.

"Sarah, I didn't mean it." Jareth said hesitantly, reaching out to touch her arm, only to be rebuffed by a hard elbow.

"Sarah, please, I didn't mean it. It's just you make me so frustrated! You won't even look at things from my point of view! If my goblins had been better masons I would have followed you Aboveground and wouldn't have let you forget about me." All anger was gone from his voice now. There was an underlying tremor of fear in his voice, knowledge that if he didn't win Sarah now he would lose her forever.

"What do you mean, better masons? If they'd been better, are you saying I wouldn't have won and destroyed your castle? That it's because of them that I even won in the first place?" Sarah was starting to get her anger back, turning to face Jareth her arms flying expressively, no longer cold and cut off.

"No, no. If you'll just stop for one moment, I'll tell you what happened when you left -- won." He held his hands out, palms up, entreating her with his eyes to listen.

"All right, but stop making me out to be the bad guy, Goblin King." Sarah said harshly, holding her arms close to her body, trying to nonverbally defend herself from the Goblin King's tale.

Jareth briefly closed his eyes, thankful that she was going to even listen. He licked his lips, noting that Sarah watched the movement with interest, then returned her gaze to his nose.

"I had summoned your three companions to the throne room to hand out punishment for betraying me." Sarah's eyes flew to his, ready to explode with outrage and in defense of her friends. Jareth stopped her protest with a raised hand. "Let me finish."

"I began to tell them that although I did not appreciate their meddling, their meddling natures would come in handy with their punishments. This was when the goblins working on repairing the roof accidentally dropped a stone on my head." Sarah tried to subtly check Jareth's head for injuries, tilting her head so that perhaps he would not notice.

"There's no mark now, I'm a fast healer. After the stone fell, it was discovered that I had amnesia, dating back to when you first began your run. Your friends quickly realized this and took advantage -- making me believe that I'd just had one too many rounds and that the Goblins had gotten a bit rowdy with the castle architecture. I took this all in stride and went Aboveground to find less...destructible...watering holes. This was how I met your cousin Charlie. But that's a story for a different time."

"What were you going to punish my friends with? Were you going to throw them in an Oubliette because they were being loyal to me, rather than to you?" Sarah said with no malice, realizing that Jareth would not hurt her, but he might enact more punishment on her friends.

"I was going to have them spy on you, to be honest. To tell me when you'd be ready to meet me again. Perhaps to give us another chance." Jareth's tone turned softer.

"You're lying!" Sarah gasped, not believing that the Goblin King would sentence her friends to spy on her.

"Why would I lie? What do I have to gain by lying? I know that you won't leave here with me Sarah, I've already ruined whatever chance I've had with you. You've gone as far as to shut your memories of the Labyrinth, your friends, of _me_ away; what's to say you won't do it again?" The fight had gone out of Jareth -- he knew that he'd lost and that his strong-willed Sarah was too strong-willed for her own good. He turned away from her, realizing that he wouldn't get that last dance. He wouldn't get one more chance with her.

"But...why, Jareth? Why?" Sarah responded to his tone with an equally soft tone, taking a step forward, reaching toward his arm.

"I told you. It's Destiny."

Sarah was silent, her hand dropping toward her side, her heart beating wildly as Jareth's words connected. She took a deep breath and tried for a smile.

"Well, I guess we had our shot, Jareth. And we both blew it. I- I'm sorry." Her smile was shaky, at best, there were tears in her throat. She knew. Deep down in her soul, she knew that Jareth was her destined. But how could she love someone who only loved her because he was fated to? That he didn't actively choose?

"May I have just one last dance, Sarah? Just one...?" Jareth spoke quietly, looking past her false smile, deep into her sad eyes.

"Yes."


	14. Fourteen

AN: I still don't own anything

AN2: I only did one edit of this chap and my beta told me that I have too many asides...sorry in advance. Thank you all for reading and reviewing and, as is my impression, enjoying this fic! I have another idea brewing, so...time will tell...

"All right, Goblin King. One dance." Sarah whispered, her eyes not missing the slight shift of surprise and hope in Jareth's expression, praying that it wasn't imagined.

He gently grasped her hand, leading her from the church aisle and toward the nearly empty dance floor in the midst of reception tables. He carefully arranged his hands, holding Sarah as close as he could, knowing that he would probably never get another chance.

Sarah took little note of the remaining guests, focused entirely on Jareth's hand on her waist, and his tender hold of her hand. She tilted her head back and realized that his face was entirely too close to her and if she could read the thoughts running through his mind, he could probably see the regret and sadness in hers. She focused her gaze on his chin, following his lead to the ending chords of a Frank Sinatra song. She knew that this wouldn't be the dance he was looking for and briefly paused at the interlude, hoping that Jareth wouldn't break away and leave her alone. Again.

"Well, folks, we're going to start wrapping things up here, just a few more songs left, then we'll say good night!" The DJ interrupted, though he was more subdued, his voice softer (or the mike, quieter).

Strains of "If I Fell" by the Beatles started to hum quietly through the speakers; Jareth pulled Sarah closer, his arm on her waist slipping around to hug her close, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "I requested this for you."

They began to move gently, their bodies swaying in sync to the sweet love song. Sarah's breath caught in her throat...something about the Beatles made her introspective and...softer.

_If I fell in love with you  
Would you promise to be true_

_And help me understand_

_'cause I've been in love before  
And I found that love was more  
Than just holding hands_

A lump formed in Sarah's throat. What was Jareth trying to tell her? What kind of love is this if it's fated and there was no choice in the matter?

"I would have loved you even if we weren't destined, Sarah." Jareth whispered in her ear.

_If I give my heart to you  
I must be sure  
From the very start  
That you would love me more than her_

"You broke my heart when you denied me. I think this is the Labyrinth's way of telling us that we should start anew. What better than at a wedding?" Jareth looked down at Sarah, nestled close to his heart, her forehead resting below his ear, in awe that she would even let him hold her.

_If I trust in you, oh please  
Don't run and hide  
If I love you too, oh please  
Don't hurt my pride like her  
'cause I couldn't stand the pain  
And I would be sad if our new love was in vain_

"I...I, don't know Jareth. I'm not the same girl that I was at fifteeen, I've changed. Do you still love her, or would you be willing to love _me_?" She pulled back a little, her eyes downcast, long lashes shading her tear-filled eyes, wishing, hoping, for the answer she was seeking.

_So I hope you see that I  
Would love to love you  
And that she will cry  
When she learns we are two  
cause I couldn't stand the pain  
and I would be sad if our new love was in vain_

"This is the nature of love, Sarah. I love who you once were, that's how I know I can love you now. You aren't so different, you're just grown up. I don't want to throw away this second chance to do things right. We can take things slow, get to know one another again." His voice was strained, his heart in his throat.

"Let's leave the past behind us, start something new. Please, Sarah, please."

_So I hope you see that I  
would love to love you  
and that she will cry when she learns we are two._

_If I fell in love with you_

"Then...yes." Her eyes sought his, her lips curving into a tentative smile. He leaned down to kiss her, to seal their agreement...

Only to be interrupted.

Now, unbeknownst to Sarah and Jareth (or unconsciously known), Charlie had been inside the church during their entire argument, crouching down behind a pew when Jareth had run to help Sarah. He had heard their entire exchange and had carefully left the church after them to call Bobby and tell him the news.

Luckily for him he ran straight into a very tea-laden and not-so-happy Bobby and was able to explain the situation quickly enough. They had stood on the edge of the dance floor, watching Jareth and Sarah, ready to step in if something ill had happened and, the ever vigilant and gossip-mongering aunts noticed their attention and had meandered over to rubber-neck at the couple at the same time. Their comments, unfortunately grew in volume and interrupted the couple's dance.

"Oh my, dearie may! I thought that boy was, you know, of the homo-_sex-_ual persuasion. After all, he did come with Charlie and we all know about him. My, my, my, Grandma Josephine might have been right on the ticket with that girl!" Apparently the coffee had revived the aunts.

"Oh, Sarah, dear, would you be so kind as to give us a ride? We only live down the block, of course, but you know how it is, after partaking of such lovely, lovely tea. We wouldn't want to get lost, you know." Sarah exchanged a humor-filled glance with Jareth, reached up on tip-toe to place a gentle kiss on his lips and turned back to her aunts.

"Of course, I will see you all home. You do all have your shoes on, don't you?"

"Why, now, it would seem I've lost one. Where's that Charlie when you need him? He was ever so good at finding the last one!" Aunt Sally shouted from the back of the bunch, again clutching a half full pitcher of tea (though everyone swears later they had no idea where she got it).

"Uh, Aunt Sally, I didn't find your last -- " Of course, wonderful things happen in pairs. Charlie now matched his partner, his pants drenched with tea, and the aunts laughing hysterically. They didn't get out much, apparently, weddings being the highlight of their year...there was just something about 'open bar' that made their nights all the more lively.

"Charlie, Bobby, may I speak to you a moment?" Jareth reluctantly let go of Sarah, sharing a look of understanding with her as she hurried off to get her aunts ready for departure.

Without speaking, Jareth summoned and dropped a crystal in front of the pair, cleaning the tea and restoring their clothing. "I'd like to thank you two, I'm sorry for my rash behavior, I tend to have a short fuse. Thank you both for your loyalty to my Sarah, perhaps there is a way I can reward you. Come to the Labyrinth with us."

The couple exchanged glances. "Well, as great as that sounds, Jareth, you told us we would remember nothing of this, of you, starting at midnight. How could we possibly go to the Underground with you?" Bobby, ever the logical one, stated calmly without accusation.

"Yes, yes, I took that off you. You will, of course, remember me and the tales of the Underground. Do you want to come with Sarah and I, or not?" Jareth's temper briefly flared at the reminder of his

"Uh, where exactly are we going, Jareth? What happened to taking things slow?" Sarah stood behind him, her arms folded and a cross look on her face.

"I thought you would agree to come to the Labyrinth with me, as we're to be married soon..." Jareth trailed off as Sarah began to shake her head.

"Married? You haven't even asked, you pig! Sheesh, one minute it's 'I love you' and the next it's 'we're getting married'. You missed a step, bub. Hey Charlie, Bobby, could you please fill him in while I shove the aunts in my subcompact?" She winked at the couple, turned and shook her finger at Jareth, and began to herd the aunts towards the parking lot, the reception now empty with the exception of the waitstaff (who had emerged from behind the dumpster, predictably).

* * *

It took Sarah ten minutes to get everyone situated (much like the layering effect of tiramisu, but it'd be best not to mention it to the aunts, as they'd get into a giggle fest just thinking of the rum) and then she finally was able to buckle herself in. She spared a glance at the passenger seat, wondering if she should have put an aunt there instead of saving it for Jareth.

_Oh well, too late now. I'll just have to find him later._ It was amazing how, in such a short span of time, Sarah felt secure in her feelings from and towards Jareth -- as if they'd always been there, just waiting for her acknowledgment.

She turned on the car with a roar, throwing the aunts into another giggle fest at the vibrations of the backseat. Just as Sarah was going to put the car in reverse, the passenger side door open. Jareth slid in the car, his face a little white, and strapped in.

"Nice to see you made it, Jareth." Sarah said quietly with a smile. Jareth turned to her, his expression one of trepidation.

"Sarah, I know you have absolutely no reason to say yes to this, but will you marry me?" He awkwardly pulled a ring box from his pocket and propped it open to reveal a beautiful ring.

To be honest, Sarah wouldn't have been able to tell you what it looked like. Aunt Sally's shoeless foot had chosen that moment to emerge from the backseat.

"Did you hear that? This Jareth fellow proposed to our Sarah!" Aunt Gabrielle said quite loudly, causing the backseat to erupt into a noisy ruckus.

"I - I...God, Jareth! In the car! With the aunts!?" Sarah said exasperatedly as soon as she got over the shock. She knew they'd get married eventually...but so soon? And to be proposed to in a car?!

"Bobby and Charlie assured me that there would be no..." Jareth leaned forward, for Sarah's ears only, "_relations_ until we got married. This is unacceptable! You could take years to agree to marry me!"

Sarah's eyes crinkled up as she tried to withhold her laughter. It didn't help. She became just as loud as the backseat partiers, grabbing her sides to stave off the stitch of pain.

Once she'd gotten over the initial laughter (and the etching of the moment in memory to tell their grandkids) she said, "Oh Jareth. Of course I'll marry you." She leaned foward to kiss him, gently pushing Aunt Sally's foot back where it belonged.

"Yay! Another wedding! I love weddings!" A chorus of happy felicitations resounded from the backseat.

"Uh, Sarah, you will have an open bar, won't you? And invite the family?" Aunt Gabrielle sounded almost nervous that Sarah would revert to the introvert she had been as a teen.

Of course, Sarah was busy doing other things at that moment, like making Jareth the happiest man in the car, the church parking lot, and probably the state of Louisiana. The aunts reluctantly sobered, waiting for the moment to pass, trying not to intrude on the couple.

"Psst. Margaret. Have you seen my shoe?" Aunt Sally couldn't help but ask.

"Oh dear LORD, what's that smell!? Hilde! What did we say about eating those prunes! Oh, that's awful! Roll the windows down, we're not gonna make it!"

And so, Jareth and Sarah quickly broke apart, drove the aunts home, bought a bottle of febreeze, and then celebrated their engagement in a nice quiet park. In Wisconsin. Where there was no family. They'd be seeing the family soon enough.

The End


End file.
